Studies on Autophagy Machinery in Magnaporthe oryzae

Abstract

The pathogenic fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae, has emerged as a model system for dissecting fungal-plant interactions. Considerable progress has been made in identifying genes necessary for the regulation of pre- and post-penetration events in the development and pathogenicity of the fungus, such as the appressorium (a dome-shaped infection structure) mediated penetration and invasive growth of the pathogen. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms of these developmental stages, especially appressorium morphogenesis, are still relatively poorly understood. Currently, we isolated the MNH6 gene for a nonhistone chromosomal protein and 24 autophagic genes from the genome of this fungus. These genes are highly conserved among other eukaryotes, including humans and plants, and they control the capability of surviving starvation, conidiation, conidial germination, lipid turnover, and appressorium turgor generation. Clarification of the functions of these autophagy genes and their interaction networks will allow us to understand the role of autophagic genes in fungal pathogenesis.